What mechanism is responsible for the faint glow observed from brown dwarfs?
Answer
Slow, inexorable gravitational compression as they shrink
Brown dwarfs are not massive enough to ignite sustained hydrogen fusion; their dim light, mostly infrared, comes from the heat generated by slow gravitational compression, a process suggested for the Sun long ago.
#Videos
How Do Stars Produce Light? - Physics Frontier - YouTube
Related Questions
What critical core temperature must be reached for nuclear fusion to commence in a star?What is the initial, ultra-high-frequency light product generated immediately by nuclear fusion in a star's core?How long can it take for an energetic photon to finally escape the interior of the Sun?What dictates the difference between a star with a short, bright existence and one that glows steadily for trillions of years?What is the term used for the average color of all starlight observed across the entire universe?What process allows astronomers to determine precisely which elements are present in a star via spectroscopy?What is one of the two primary factors that resolve Olbers' Paradox regarding the dark night sky?What generates the light emitted by a white dwarf after it has exhausted its fusion fuel?What mechanism is responsible for the faint glow observed from brown dwarfs?What phenomenon causes starlight to exhibit polarization when observed on Earth?Who first categorized stars into visual brightness categories ranging from first-magnitude to sixth-magnitude?What process causes the material approaching a black hole to shine brightly, often in X-ray light?